“Being a Therapist Doesn't Exclude You From Real Life”: Family Therapists’ Beliefs and Barriers to Political Action

A crucial and overlooked facet of social justice in family therapy is political and policy advocacy. Family therapists have unique insight into how social policies and political discourse shapes clients’ lives and the life of our profession. Such knowledge can inform policymakers and political debate, yet few family therapists are trained to engage in political action. In this randomized, national survey of licensed family therapists’ (N = 174), we explore beliefs about and barriers to engagement in political and policy processes. The findings suggest that there are significant barriers and uncertainties surrounding family therapists’ engagement, including time, feelings of efficacy, and interest. Given these barriers we discuss practical suggestions for clinicians and family therapy training programs.     

Media advocates,Latino citizens and niche cable The limits of ‘no limits’ TV

In Shot in America, Chon Noriega calls for the study of media activism’s work ‘within the system’ of state institutions and for analysis of the relationships between media activism, the television industry and government policies. This article uses a cultural policy studies focus to answer this call and map the deregulated terrain upon which media advocacy groups must now operate. Liberal governance demands that media advocates find means other than state-directed appeals to advance their agendas. As such, this essay examines the efforts of several Latino advocacy groups to garner viewer support for a Latino-themed cable television show, Resurrection Boulevard, and to use the series as a vehicle for increased Latino participation in the television industry. This article focuses on the issue of access for Latinos to professional positions that affect television programming, and it presents tools for advocacy efforts within political spheres to achieve more socially equitable access to media technologies. First, the paper traces the regulatory history of the broadcasting and cable television industries to show how the federal government narrowly conceives of ‘the public interest’ as a specifically consumerist one. The article then analyses the structures that led to cable television’s ‘narrowcasting’ format, such as Showtime’s ‘No Limits’ programming, and argues that liberalism has created a context wherein several media advocates normalise the ‘citizen-consumer’ model. Having established this groundwork, the author then conducts a case study of the economic and social forces that shape Resurrection Boulevard, which is written, produced and acted by Latinos. Through this study, the author maintains that advocacy groups’ consumer-based appeals to Latinos as ‘citizen-consumers’ fail to serve as effective instruments for achieving increased minority representation in the television industry.     

Teaching Family Policy

Abstract

Preparing students to engage in family policy education and advocacy is a challenge and opportunity for departments that teach family studies and family policy courses. Students not only need to know theoretical implications of family policy and how research enhances the theory, but also understand the policy process and how research-based information about family can inform policymaking. These students also need to acquire advocacy skills in order to work effectively in different policy arenas. This article illustrates how university family policy educators can structure curricula to provide students with both knowledge and skills vital to effective participation in family policy formation, analysis and critique.     

Embracing Applied Policy Practice: A Case Study From a Robust BSW Program

This article, first presented at the Policy Conference 2.0 in Austin, Texas, May 2014, portrays a case example of an undergraduate social work program’s robust response to the imperative that policy advocacy serve as a demonstration to students of commitment to the profession and its mission. Initial evidence from field supervisors, students, and examples of recognition suggests that students are prepared to engage in policy advocacy as they enter the profession.     

Cultural Issues in Therapy: On the Fringe

This paper argues that issues of culture have occupied a fringe position in the thinking and practice of most Australian family therapists. Starting with a definition of culture as epistemology, it examines factors pertaining to government policy, demography and the experience of migration to argue the relevance of a cultural perspective in mainstream family therapy discourse. The paper then looks at two central consequences for family therapy and training — cultural oppression and maintaining the status quo — if a cultural perspective continues to be neglected. It then proposes ways that therapists can introduce a cultural perspective in their thinking and clinical work. The paper concludes with a case vignette which illustrates some of the ideas.     

Systemic Practice in the Time of COVID: Conversations Among Culturally Diverse Therapists

The COVID‐19 pandemic has changed the delivery of clinical services and education of health professionals, including family therapists. This paper distils two separate Zoom conversations between myself (as the lead author) and two eminent family therapists, Professors Maurizio Andolfi and Harry Aponte, where challenges and opportunities for the profession during and after the pandemic are discussed. Creativity and resourcefulness are two important elements therapists and educators have needed to access during the pandemic to find alternative ways to continue to provide clinical services and teaching. Most therapists have transitioned using online technology and various platforms such as Zoom and Skype; for some this has been a somewhat familiar experience, for most it has been a novel one. Key themes emerged from the conversations including the personal and professional ‘lived experiences’ of the pandemic; the financial impact on clients and students; the importance of touch for human social connection; the use of ‘self’ as an instrument of change and alternative platforms of service delivery and teaching. We reflected on what has been lost, such as the nuances inherent in face‐to‐face human interactions, and what has been gained, such as observing families in situ in their own environments.     

Science as a Strategy for Social Work

For more than one hundred years, various forms of science have been promoted to boost social work’s status as a profession. Evidence-based practice and talk about the science of social work are only the most recent manifestations of this pattern. Counter to this trend, this article argues that the latest upsurge of interest in scientific social work is no more likely than any of its predecessors to address the problems of the profession. Beginning with a linguistic analysis of the words science and scientific as positive signifiers, the article traces social work’s long history of science talk as a means of reassuring funding agencies and bolstering the profession’s status. Drawing on a critique of this discourse as the latest example of abstracted empiricism, it then contends that while scientific social work can only rarely capture what occurs in the field, its attempt to do so actually undercuts practitioners’ professional judgment and discretion. Last, after rejecting science talk as counterproductive, the article concludes with recommendations for an alternative strategy that might better position social work to reconcile its advocacy of social justice with its concerns about its professional status.     

Clinical Social Worker as Patient Advocate in a Community Mental Health Center

As a profession, social work has always advocated for clients. Yet clinical social work settings often ignore this important aspect of practice. For mental health services in public agencies, patient advocacy is a particularly vital element because these systems are not always responsive to the individual client. The clinical social worker, trained in advocacy, systemic intervention, and psychotherapy, is the professional most qualified to fill this role. The author summarizes the history of advocacy, provides a conceptual framework for the clinical social work advocate, and provides examples from 20 years of experience as a patient advocate in community mental health.

The Experiences of Couple/Marriage and Family Therapists of color: A Survey Analysis

The family therapy literature documenting the experiences of couple/marriage and family therapists (C/MFTs) of color as a group is limited. The purpose of this study was to assess the status of C/MFTs of color in their clinical training programs, clinical work, and related areas of professional challenges and opportunities. Participants (N = 113) completed a one‐time, anonymous electronic survey on SurveyMonkey consisting of demographic questions, closed‐ and open‐ended questions about their experiences. Key findings are reported related to C/MFTs of color experiences in training programs, areas of professional need, and working with racial and/or ethnic minority clients. These findings shed light on how social justice principles and practices upheld in our field are experienced from the emic perspectives of C/MFTs of color. These voices help to broaden our understanding of how we might move forward in advocating for and advancing a more culturally responsive agenda within our profession.     

Designing effective corporate social advocacy campaigns using valence,arousal, and issue salience

Corporate social advocacy (CSA) is a growing communications practice that involves corporations taking a public stance on a controversial social issue. Some CSA campaigns have failed in the past (e.g., Pepsi’s 2017 Live for Now Moments Anthem video) by generating public backlash and damaging corporate reputation. To test how to design CSA campaigns that are beneficial for both the corporation and the advocacy issue, the current between-subjects experiment (N = 508) employed a 2 (issue salience: moderate vs. high) X 2 (valence: negative vs. positive) X 2 (arousal: moderate vs. high) factorial design to test the effects of salience, valence, and arousal on memory and four persuasion outcomes: company attitudes, purchase intentions, political participation intentions, and social media intentions, while also analyzing the mediation of information processing. Findings support prior research suggesting that negative valence increases persuasion in CSA contexts. A high-salience issue and high-arousal language increased political participation and social media intentions but had no effect on company attitudes or purchase intentions. Practical implications for CSA campaign designers highlight the persuasive potential of negative valence in CSA messages, and the utility of high-salience and high-arousal for political action and social media engagement.     

How social ties contribute to collective actions on social media: A social capital approach

In public relations research into civic engagement, the influence of social ties on the individual level has not been adequately studied from a social capital perspective. To fill this gap, this study conducts a one-factor between subjects experiment to examine the difference, if any, between the social influence of strong ties and of weak ties on individuals’ participation intentions in regard to collective actions. This study postulates collective efficacy as a factor possibly associated with the intention to participate in collective actions. The study findings suggest that advocacy about certain social causes, such as veterans affairs, have globally positive effects on publics’ civic engagement intentions, regardless of the norms of the social network with which the individuals are connected. Furthermore, collective efficacy was found to be positively associated with participation in collective actions. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Power,participation and post modernism: User and practitioner participation in mental health social work education

The focus of this paper is service user and social work practitioner participation in the teaching for the mental health social work course. A review of the programme seeks to illuminate the value and significance of participation. The obstacles exposed through interviews and a collective workshop suggest a blocking opposition between idealistic education and ‘the reality of practice’. However this opposition is challenged by user and black advocacy participation. The value of participation appears in terms of anti-discrimination and extended possibilities to bring about change. Theory and practice divides are also dissolved. Participation is connected to power and modern and post modern approaches to education provide the theoretical framework.     

Interorganizational Partnerships as a Strategy for Lobbying: Nonprofit Administrators’ Perspectives on Collaborating for Systems-Level Change

Participation in coalitions has been identified as a policy advocacy behavior for nonprofit organizations, although few studies have examined nonprofit leaders’ perceptions of coalition building as a strategy for lobbying. This study conducted focus groups and in-person interviews with nonprofit administrators to explore how interorganizational collaboration is utilized to address their organizations’ policy advocacy goals. The findings indicate that nonprofit administrators view their participation in coalitions as a means of achieving several policy advocacy goals, including increasing their capacity to lobby and protecting them from exposure as lobbyists. Implications for practice and research are provided.     

Kindergarten Education Scheme in Hong Kong: Policy measures,rhizomatic connections and early childhood teacher education

Using Deleuze and Guattari's concept of rhizome, this study examines the key measures of the Kindergarten Education Scheme introduced by the Hong Kong government in 2017 after a large-scale advocacy movement. It argues that these measures have expanded the power of the neoliberal imaginary through producing an enhanced market apparatus and an apolitical teaching profession. The neoliberal expansion reflects the manifestation of different kinds of rhizomatic connections to reterritorialise the field. This study calls for the rethinking of teacher educators’ ethical responsibility in addressing the complexity of teacher work frequently neglected by policy and the policy/practice divide in teacher education.     

The Impact of Family Therapists’ Adult Attachment Styles on Their Career Choice and Approach to Therapy: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis

Attachment theorists have highlighted the role of the therapist in providing a ‘secure base’ for therapy. This raises the question of how therapists with insecure as well as secure attachment styles manage the integration of their personal experience and their therapeutic work. This study explored the relationship between family therapists’ adult attachment styles, influences on their career choice and their approach to therapy. Participants’ (n = 11) attachment styles were previously assessed using the self-report Experiences in Close Relationship questionnaire. Three participants were assessed as having a ‘secure’ attachment style; three were ‘preoccupied’, three ‘fearful’ and two ‘dismissing’. They were interviewed about their practice and the impact of past or current relationships on their development as therapists. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse the verbatim accounts into cluster of master themes and subthemes. The analysis identified two master themes: understanding one’s self and the impact of family of origin experiences, and the integration between personal experiences and therapeutic work. There were differences in responses relating to the therapists’ attachment styles. Therapists with ‘secure’ adult attachment styles were aware of their challenges and able to utilise their experiences in their practice and respond sensitively to their clients. Conversely, those with ‘insecure’ styles have difficulties in mentalisation and in using counter-transference responses in their practice. We suggest that family therapists, social workers and others engaged in therapeutic work with families should undertake an exploration of the ‘self’ of the therapist in the context of their own family relationships and adult attachment styles as part of their training and continuing professional development.     

Mental health professionals in children's advocacy centers: is there role conflict?

Two recent chapters in professional books have criticized children's advocacy centers for creating role conflict for mental health professionals because of their work with criminal justice and child protection professionals in children's advocacy centers as part of a coordinated response to child abuse. This article argues that these critiques misunderstand children's advocacy center practice and overestimate the risk of role conflict. Children's advocacy center standards set a boundary between forensic interviewing and therapy, which in most children's advocacy centers are done by separate professionals and never by the same professional for a given child. Many mental health professionals serve children's advocacy centers as consultants with no treatment role. Children's advocacy center therapists are rarely involved in investigation, and their participation in multidisciplinary teams focuses on children's interests and well-being.     

Evaluation,Accountability and Clinical Expertise in Managed Mental Health Care

In this article, the author identifies a number of policies and practices of managed mental health care organizations that, if allowed to continue unchecked, will have deleterious effects upon the American family. Since this industry is not regulated by either state or federal statutes, managed care organizations have had free reign to disallow coverage for a variety of DSM-III-R diagnostic categories and V-Code conditions. Some organizations severely limit the number of collateral contacts their therapists can schedule with clients' family members and others prohibit their therapists from working with more than one family member at any given time. The author also highlights the complex relationship that exists among insurance companies, managed care organizations, the medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry. He then offers some hypotheses about the nature of these relationships and the reasons for their existence. Finally, the author calls for social work to take an active role in bringing these issues to public awareness and suggests that social workers become advocates for the American family in this era of managed care.     

Social Work,Politics, and Social Policy Education: Applying a Multidimensional Framework of Power

The call to promote social justice sets the social work profession in a political context. In an effort to enhance social workers’ preparedness to engage in political advocacy, this article calls on educators to integrate a broad theoretical understanding of power into social policy curricula. We suggest the use of a multidimensional conceptualization of power that emphasizes mechanisms of decision making, agenda control, and attitude formation. We then apply these mechanisms to demonstrate how two prominent features of contemporary politics—party polarization and racially biased attitudes—affect the ability of social workers to influence policy. Finally, we suggest content that social work educators can integrate to prepare future social workers to engage in strategic and effective social justice advocacy.     

Asylum Discourse in New Zealand: Moral Panic and a Culture of Indifference

Recent law changes in New Zealand allowing for the detention of a “mass arrival” of asylum seekers reflect a concerning international rhetoric and associated policy trend in Australia and the United Kingdom towards those seeking asylum. This paper argues that, although the New Zealand public has not (yet) reached a “moral panic” that is prevalent within international contexts, there are concerns about a “culture of indifference” in relation to asylum seekers. By providing a policy analysis about asylum seekers and an examination on the associated discourses utilised in international contexts, this discussion presents the New Zealand context through the process of risk signification. The paper discusses how the social work profession can respond to this culture of indifference through addressing collusion (often through silence) with oppressive asylum policies, the need for stronger advocacy and action, and the associated role of social work education.